More signs point to unhappy ending

Tuesday

The Eagles have arrived at the intersection of Dysfunction Junction and Turmoil Drive.

No matter the road they choose now, it will end the same. In a dead end.

There is only one hope left, and that is for Jeffrey Lurie to chopper in and airlift his team out. Yes, it is his team. Andy Reid may have built it, with the help of Howie Roseman and Joe Banner, but, as the owner, Lurie trumps all.

In good times, Lurie would be spotted in a postgame locker room, talking to players, chatting with reporters, smiling all the while. But he has been conspicuous by his absence as the days grow darker and the losses keep piling up. Especially the home losses. Five of them in six games at Lincoln Financial Field.

Thankfully, there are two home games remaining. All the tickets have been sold but how many of them will be used is another matter entirely.

The only real reason left to watch the final month of a lost season is to see just how bad this train wreck gets. To rubberneck, the way motorists do on a highway when they come upon an accident scene. To witness a foundation that used to be so well-glued become unglued.

They have an unhappy player and coaches fighting among themselves. That is turmoil at the highest level.

They have talent, but four wins. That is dysfunction.

This appears to be the End of Days for Reid — with a caveat.

If the Eagles win out and finish 9-7, then maybe Reid returns. Forget that happening. The Birds are too inconsistent to win five in a row. They have won just two straight through 11 games.

Is there some magic win total that will save Reid’s job, like, say, seven wins, eight wins?

Hard to believe that anything less than 9-7 will be enough, and maybe that won’t even do it.

There could be one thing that saves Reid. His contract. He is still owed $10 million for the next two years. Maybe that is what will ultimately save him no matter the win total.

Would Lurie eat that kind of dough?

Or will he just ask Reid to make some changes on his staff?

That has already been tried on the defensive side of the ball.

If Juan Castillo is one-and-out, on the heels of Sean McDermott’s two-and-done, then the next defensive coordinator would be Reid’s third in four years.

Maybe Reid would be forced to make a change on the offensive side.

Marty Mornhinweg has been here for nine years now, eight as the offensive coordinator. Like his boss, he has become a pass-a-holic. Reid and Mornhinweg’s addiction to the pass led defensive line coach Jim Washburn to confront Mornhinweg during Sunday’s loss.

There was a report by Comcast SportsNet, later confirmed by a source, about a pushing and shoving match between Washburn and Mornhinweg on the sidelines. Why it happened isn’t clear, yet. Speculation is that the argument was due to Washburn’s belief that the team was not running the ball enough. He wanted to give his winded linemen a breather. Instead, Mornhinweg kept on chucking the ball.

Evidently, Washburn agrees with Eagles fans that they should rely more on the run now that they have one of the game’s most dynamic and, so far, durable backs.

But that’s the problem with addiction, admitting you have a problem.

Reid’s defense of not running the ball against the Patriots was that other teams had success throwing the ball against them, so why not?

The problem there is Reid refuses to do what his team does best — and this year, it’s run the ball, with LeSean McCoy dangerous enough to take the ball a long way at any time. So Reid takes what the other team does best and cowers from it, and tries to do something that isn’t his team’s strongest suit. Not with a backup quarterback in Vince Young playing and starting wide receiver Jeremy Maclin not.

Also, when a defense is ranked last in the NFL, the way New England is, is one area of its defense really that much markedly better than another?

Eagles tight end Brent Celek said that the Patriots were crowding the box with defenders and shutting down the run.

Well, there’s a way to beat that, but the coaches don’t want to commit to two-tight end sets with a fullback in order to keep running.

Think the Broncos aren’t seeing a crowded running box in order to get Tim Tebow to throw? The Broncos run anyway, and look at them, they ran for 208 yards against the Chargers and have won four of Tebow’s last four starts.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Reid and Mornhinweg clearly don’t have the will.

Maybe if DeSean Jackson doesn’t drop two touchdown catches, it’s a different outcome on Sunday. Probably not, but who’s to say for sure?

The Jackson mess was created by Reid, Roseman and Banner when they decided not to sign the talented receiver to another contract. Clearly, not having a contract is affecting Jackson’s play. Whether that’s right or wrong, it’s only human nature to worry about your future, especially when everyone agrees that, when you play football, you are only one play away from it being your last.

When asked after Sunday’s loss if he was concerned about his health when he is on the field, Jackson said, “Always. You’ve got to keep your head on a swivel.”

That’s no way to play football.

It may at this point be fair to say that if Reid stays, Jackson goes. If Reid goes, Jackson stays.

Take your pick.

The fans, it would seem by their chants of ‘’Fire Andy’’ late in Sunday’s game, have made their choice.

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